WASHINGTON—Although a growing number of Americans say they are not affiliated with any religion, Congress has just one member who says the same. A new political action committee is hoping to level the playing field.

On Wednesday, the Center for Humanist Activism launched the Freethought Equality Fund PAC, which it’s billing as the first nontheist political action committee with a full-time paid staff.

“I am pleased that we’re able to meet this need for political representation for atheist, humanist, and other freethinkers,” “To be able to provide financial assistance to candidates who support secular government will benefit all Americans, including those who value the absence of government entanglement in religious beliefs.”

The PAC will back humanist, atheist and agnostic candidates at all levels of government.

A poll taken during election season last year found that only 54 percent of Americans would vote for a “well-qualified” atheist presidential candidate. While this was the highest total since Gallup began asking the question in 1958, atheism proved the biggest negative influence on a hypothetical candidate’s viability, with fewer respondents saying they would be willing to vote for an atheist than either a gay or a Muslim candidate. Another survey taken in 2012 found that 50 percent of Americans believe atheism is “threatening” to them.